Bio / Text:

General Dean was born in East St. Louis, Ill., in 1916. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., in 1938 and was commissioned a second lieutenant, Infantry. He then entered flying training and completed primary and advanced flying schools at Randolph and Kelly fields, Texas.

In September 1939 he was assigned to the 40th Pursuit Squadron and later became commander. During World War II, he served in the European and Mediterranean theaters of operation as commander of the 308th Fighter Squadron and executive officer and later commander of the 31st Fighter Group. He served in England and in the African and Sicilian campaigns and flew more than 100 combat missions in the British "Spitfire" aircraft.

In July 1943 General Dean went to Washington, D.C., and was assigned as a member of the Advisory Council for General H.H. Arnold, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces. He became chief of the Advisory Council in January 1944 and also was executive assistant to General Arnold. During this period he accompanied the Air Force member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Conferences at Cairo, Yalta and Potsdam.

Immediately following World War II, General Dean was appointed to the Joint Brazil-United States Military Commission in Rio de Janeiro. While on the commission he advised and assisted the Brazilian Air Force in matters pertaining to its training, operations and logistics. He was also charged with closing out American activities at airbases built in northeast Brazil during World War II by the United States as part of its long route to Africa.

He returned to Washington, D.C., in October 1948, to become chief of a planning team in the War Plans Division in Headquarters U.S. Air Force. In March 1950 he was transferred to the Programming Office of the Air Staff where he became a working member on the Program and Budget Advisory Committee to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He entered the National War College in August 1952 and after graduation in June 1953 assumed command of the jet flying training wing at Webb Air Force Base, Texas. He completed the Manpower Management Course at The George Washington University in 1954 and was named vice commander of the Flying Training Air Force at Waco, Texas.

In March 1957 he became commander of Air Task Force 13, Pacific Air Forces, and chief of the Air Force Section of the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Taiwan.

General Dean returned to Washington, D.C., in April 1960 and became the director for operations of the Joint Staff, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In August 1962 he was assigned as deputy commander of Twelfth Air Force, Waco, Texas, and in July 1963 became commander.

In January 1964 General Dean was appointed by the president as an assistant director of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in Washington, D.C., and chief of the Weapons Evaluation and Control Bureau in that agency.

In August 1966 he became deputy commander in chief, U.S. Strike Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., with additional responsibilities as deputy commander in chief of the Middle East/Southern Asia and Africa South of the Sahara Command. He assumed his duties as commander, Allied Air Forces Southern Europe in Naples, Italy, in August 1968.

His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal - Air Force design - with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Service Medal - Army design, Silver Star, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters, and foreign awards. He is a command pilot.